Adopt This Procedure to Become a Teacher in the UAE

The UAE Teacher License exam is here again and teachers all around the country are busy in preparing themselves for the big assessment because this exam will make or break their career as a teacher in the UAE. A teacher who doesn’t hold this license will not be able to legally work in the country in the education sector. So, it is important for all teachers and aspiring teachers to obtain their Teachers Licensing System (UAE) certification. So, we decided to do some digging ourselves and bring you easy and accurate information on how to become a teacher in the UAE and what you need to do to successfully obtain your teaching license in the country.

First things first, you need to understand what the Teachers Licensing System (TLS) UAE exam really is. The TLS is a certification or a seal of approval given by the Government of UAE that enables all teachers to legally perform their duties as a teacher in the UAE. As we have already discussed in this piece, there is no possibility for any teacher or educationist to legally work in the country without holding this license. Having this license is an absolute must. Without it, you have no hope and you shouldn’t even bother applying for any UAE teaching jobs. This license is the first big step towards starting your teaching career in the UAE. In the past, this teacher license test was known as the Teacher and Educational Leadership Standards (TELS) and Licensing program. Recently, some changes were made to the system and the newly-introduced certification is known as the Teachers Licensing System (TLS) UAE.

Therefore, if you want to work as a teacher in the UAE, the first thing to do is to take the TLS exam. As per the new policy of UAE Ministry of Education, all teachers are obligated to hold this license. In the first registration cycle, only teachers of Arabic, English, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology teaching in government and private high schools have been asked to register for the licensing program. Future registration cycles will also include other subjects as well as other school levels.

All currently registered candidates will receive an official email asking them to log on to the official TLS website where they will be required to provide relevant personal information and academic credentials. This process of registration is completely free for all teachers and all the cost of conducting the test will be borne by the authorities themselves.

After the registration is complete, all candidates will be required to take a test designed to assess their level of expertise in their subject of specialization. The test schedule and date and time will be conveyed to all candidates through an official email. Right now, this test is only taken for the subjects of English, Arabic, Mathematics, Physics, Biology, and Chemistry. However, subsequent registration phases will also include other subjects and school levels other than high school. About three months later, another test will assess the candidates’ knowledge about the culture, teaching system, classroom management system, and other pedagogical benchmarks in the UAE.

Those who successfully pass the test will be issued their teaching license having a validity of 1 to 3 years. This duration of validity will be based on a particular candidate’s test score, academic qualifications, and experience as a teacher. Those who fail to clear the test at the first hurdle will have two more chances to make amends. But, before they go for a retake, they will have to get some custom-designed training to better prepare for the test and cover up their weak points. What sort of training is needed will be determined by the candidate’s individual test score. The time period of this training will vary from 1 to 6 months.

This piece brought you some basic info about the newly-introduced UAE teaching license procedure. To get more detailed information, you can always go to the official website of the UAE Ministry of Education where they have all the guidelines and terms and conditions listed along with test samples for all subjects currently being tested. Log on to and find what you are looking for. Happy preparing for the test!

Graey Williams is an creative writer and writes about interesting things.